CBC internal guidance tells staff not to call 9/11 a terrorist attack

Aug 28, 2026

Canada's state-funded broadcaster told its journalists to avoid the phrase "terrorist attack" for September 11, landing badly in the US just weeks before the 25th anniversary.

  • Internal CBC guidance instructs staff to describe 9/11 as hijackings and plane crashes rather than terrorism.
  • CBC defended the wording as avoiding politically and emotionally loaded language, which is fuelling American anger rather than calming it.
  • The timing stings because CBC is government funded, and Mark Carney recently raised its budget by 10%.
  • Americans are calling for Carney to disown the memo directly, warning that silence from the top will be read as agreement.
  • The fight sits on top of an already sour trade mood, with Ontario's Doug Ford talking tough and Canada betting Trump loses the midterms and hands them leverage.

Outlook: Pressure will build on Carney to respond before the anniversary, and a non-answer would harden US-Canada tensions heading into tariff talks.

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